Below are the candidates for the awards, and they include some of the Founder Institute’s most promising companies, having secured notable traction across the team, product development, adoption and investors last year.

Full List of Nominees for the 2016 Founder Institute Graduate Awards

Best Female CEO

SpeechMED CEO Susan Perry (Fort Lauderdale FI Graduate) - SpeechMED helps people see and hear their medical information in their own language. In 2016, they launched a large pilot with the University of Miami Hospital.

Bridgr CEO Amira Boutouchent (Montreal FI Graduate) - A service that helps small and medium-sized companies find experts to fix operational problems, Bridgr launched their beta with 5 manufacturing pilots. Bridgr joined the HEC - National Bank of Canada accelerator and is member of the Canadian delegation for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance.

Feetz CEO Lucy Beard (San Diego FI Graduate) - One of the industry leaders in 3D printed custom footwear, Feetz launched a shoe line with DSW in 2016 (A major U.S. shoe retailer with over 450 locations).

DADA CEO Beatriz Helena Ramos (New York FI Graduate) - A network that helps visual artists sell their work and get hired. In 2016 DADA grew to over 30k+ active users.

Best in U.S.

Rever (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - Rever is an online platform that enables large companies to engage all their employees in frontline innovation. In 2016, they raised $1m funding and secured several large clients.

Kangaroo Time (Los Angeles FI Graduate) - A management, communication, and payment platform for daycare centers, Kangaroo Time raised over $1M, including a seed-funding round from Mucker Capital.

tForm (Greenville FI Graduate) - A packaging manufacturing company that utilizes a method called “thermoforming”, tForm launched a factory in 2016 and have quoted over $2M in product.

Realty Mogul (Los Angeles FI Graduate) - The leading crowdfunding investment platform for commercial real estate, they have returned over $50MM to investors on over $200M invested.

Feetz (San Diego FI Graduate) - One of the industry leaders in 3D printed custom footwear, Feetz launched a shoe line with DSW, a major U.S. shoe retailer with over 450 locations.

Spikes Security (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - An online security company founded by the former CIO of SpaceX and Paypal, Spikes Security was acquired by Aurionpro Solutions (NSE: AURIONPRO).

Kindara (New York FI Graduate) - A company that produces apps and smart thermometers to promote fertility, Kindara announced an additional $1M in equity financing. The company has now raised $7M+ to date.

Udemy (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - The world’s leading source of online courses, Udemy raised a $60MM Series-D financing to expand internationally. The company has now raised over $170MM, with over 11 million students and 40,000 courses.

Fund that Flip (New York FI Graduate) - A real estate crowdfunding site for “flippers”, Fund That Flip raised over $2MM from top investors like the Fintech Venture Fund, ERA, and the Soundboard Angel Fund.

Best in Canada

Unito (Montreal FI Graduate) - Unito builds software to seamlessly connect and integrate various business apps. They raised $575k in 2016 from Real Ventures, Right Side Capital, and more.

Logrr (Montreal FI Graduate) - An identity-as-a-service platform for large corporations, Logrr launched three major pilots in 2016 and landed banking giant Barclays as a customer. Logrr raised a seed round from Colorado-based Rockies Venture Club as well as Techstars.

Hykso (Montreal FI Graduate) - A wrist-worn sensor and analytics platform for athletes that was accepted into Y Combinator and raised +600k$, Hykso was used by the USA National Boxing Team in preparation for the Olympics.

Wishpad (Toronto FI Graduate) Wishpad is a platform that connects people with their dream home by smart comparison mechanics. They landed an important strategic partnership with ToSolds.

SpaceiShare (Toronto FI Graduate) - A marketplace that allows people to offer their empty physical spaces as storage for people who need the room, SpaceiShare joined the MergeLane accelerator and are eligible for $120k in funding.

The Food Room (Montreal FI Graduate) - A company that provides food businesses with culinary coworking facilities via an online booking platform, Food Room raised $750k and secured an investment on the hit show Dragon’s Den.

iCarsClub (Singapore FI Graduate) - A P2P car rental service with over 120,000 cars available across Singapore and China, iCarsClub was named one of the “15 top-funded startups in Southeast Asia of all time” by Tech in Asia.

Beeketing (Vietnam FI Graduate) - Beeketing is a marketing platform which increases sales and conversion rates for online stores. They graduated from 500 Startups and were featured in TechCrunch.

Grabajob (Bangkok FI Graduate) - Connecting people with local service jobs, Grabajob raised a seed investment round of $50,000 at the conclusion of the FI Bangkok’s 2016 program.

Cribber (Perth FI Graduate) - A service that improves employee engagement and provides painless OSH compliance, Cribber was a Top 20 Finalist for Australia’s OzAPP Awards.

Formalytics (Perth FI Graduate) - Formalytics, a data analysis platform for casual and professional soccer (football) players, was a Top 20 Finalist for Australia’s OzAPP Awards.

Geopast (Sydney FI Graduate) - A service which helps people crowd-locate the origin of old photographs, Geopast announced that over 6,000,000 images have passed through their system.

GoFar (Sydney FI Graduate) - A smart device that coaches people to drive safer and more economically, Gofar announced that it has shipped over 1000 units.

Best in Latin America

Voyhoy (Santiago FI Graduate) - A bus, flight, and train ticketing and travel platform, Voyhoy became the first Chilean-born startup to be accepted into Techstars. They’ve raised over $450k, and are expanding quickly across both Latin America and Europe.

Best in MENA

Etudesk (Abidjan FI Graduate) - A web platform enabling academic institutions and corporations to set up their own online learning programs, Etudesk won the Seedstars Côte d’Ivoire Final.

Vynd Solutions (Tunis FI Graduate) - Vynd is a community platform for sharing opinions and information about enterprises and local businesses. In 2016, they were finalists in Seedstars Tunisia and grew rapidly.

Ovamba (Johannesburg FI Graduate) - Ovamba is a leading marketplace lending platform for SMEs. In 2016, they were named a finalist at the Benzinga Global Fin-tech Awards.

Indisera (Istanbul FI Graduate) - Indisera automizes SEO, SEM and ASO processes with artificial intelligence. In 2016, they reached profitability and opened an office in San Francisco.

Gummie (Johannesburg FI Graduate) - Gummie selects the best travel experiences in Africa and offers them to tourists and local residents. They raised a $90k angel round in 2016.

Prefabulous (Tunis FI Graduate) - A company that makes modular prefabricated wooden homes to provide people an affordable, ecological housing. Since graduating in 2016, Prefabulous has shown strong MoM growth.

SmartChoice.pk (Karachi FI Graduate) - A financial comparison website that analyzes insurance, banking and broadband services, SmartChoice grew revenue in 2016 and has been featured in Yahoo News and E27.

Pulp (London FI Graduate) - A wine subscription delivery and a gamified learning experience for wine lovers, Pulp graduated the FI program in 2016 and has both grown MoM and increased its team size.

TravelCar (Paris FI Graduate) - TravelCar secured $15M in 2016 funding to expand its ‘traveler-to-traveler’ car rental service throughout Europe and into the United States.They also announced that they have reached over over 300,000 users.

Yatrus Analytics (Sofia FI Graduate) - Yatrus Analytics is a platform that helps financial companies and news agencies identify financial trends before they begin. They were featured on Bloomberg TV and have landed large clients.

Peerby (Amsterdam FI Graduate) - A popular app that allows sharing and borrowing between neighbors, Peerby raised $2.2M in one weekend via equity crowdfunding and have begun expanding into the US.

ECrowd (Barcelona FI Graduate) - An investing site for large ticket projects (€50k and upward) with positive social impact, ECrowd raised €154k on their equity crowdfunding campaign.

Genial.ly (Cordoba ES FI Graduate) - Genially is a tool that allows users to create all kinds of online content enriched with interactivity, without requiring programming skills. In the last year, they grew billing 20% per month.

BeOnPrice (Madrid FI Graduate) - BeOnPrice provides software for hotel managers to fill rooms with maximum efficiency. In 2016, they grew at a rapid clip and tripled their annual revenue.

Best in India

Energyly (Bangalore FI Graduate) - Energyly produces software and hardware for managing home energy consumption. In 2016, they received an investment from Keiretsu Forum.

Watsan Envirotech (Chennai FI Graduate) - Watsan creates electricity-free water filters using a new nano-clay particle filtration technique. They received a grant from India’s Millennium Alliance Fund, and have produced over 90,000 personal filters to date.

Service Tree (Chennai FI Graduate) - Service Tree produces a service aggregator app, which allows users to book almost all the home services in one place. They are expanding their team and have grown throughout the last year.

Cityrene (Chennai FI Graduate) - Cityrene builds eco-friendly homes using GFRG technology to help people buy quick, efficient and smart homes. In the past year, they’ve grown their team and increased MoM revenue.

Factor Healthcare (Chennai FI Graduate) - Factor Healthcare helps in delivering preventive healthcare to people and reducing sickness. In 2016, they launched their product and were covered in the press.

Polar Bear International (Hyderabad FI Graduate) - Polar Bear International is a company that manufactures responsibly made, biodegradable products for retailers worldwide. In 2016, they have grown to become a market leader in India.

Medicodesk (Hyderabad FI Graduate) - A service that makes healthcare products for medical practitioners, MedicoDesk has been growing since graduation, and secured multiple B2B customers.

Zenfinity.in (Chennai FI Graduate) - Zenfinity enables small business owners to manage their finances and business performance via an integrated web solution. They have grown their team in the past year, and have seen strong growth.

Best in Social Innovation

Involve (San Diego FI Graduate) - A platform for companies to streamline corporate giving and manage employee engagement, Involve landed three big pilots and a large customer in Mucker Capital.

AllCanCode (Athens FI Graduate) - A platform where anyone can learn how to code and make games and apps. The company graduated from the Imagine K12 Accelerator and has raised $180,000 so far.

ECrowd (Barcelona FI Graduate) - An investing site for large ticket projects (€50k and upward) with positive social impact, ECrowd raised €154k on their equity crowdfunding campaign.

2Houses (Brussels FI Graduate) - 2Houses, a web platform that helps divorced parents communicate about their children, expanded its operations throughout the last year and launched in Italy.

Polar Bear International (Hyderabad FI Graduate) - Polar Bear International is a company that manufactures responsibly made, biodegradable products for retailers worldwide. In 2016, they have grown to become a market leader in India.

Monkey Junior (Hanoi Founder Institute) - An interactive application that teaches children how to read, Monkey Junior won the GIST Tech-I Pitch Competition and took home the $15,000 prize.

Girltank (Santiago FI Graduate) - Girltank is a crowdsourcing platform to build a network of high-impact young women social entrepreneurs and bring their ventures to scale. They run programs around the world and have made a significant impact on creating gender balance in entrepreneurship.

VisaBot (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - An AI immigration attorney aiming to “help immigrants make America great again”, Visabot was one of the highest voted companies on ProductHunt and captured news headlines on sites like VentureBeat.

Best in Frontier Technology

Oneness (Fort Lauderdale FI Graduate) - Oneness is an eco-friendly clean-tech water cleaning service. Since graduating FI in 2016, they launched a successful pilot program and have begun to expand.

Watsan Envirotech (Chennai FI Graduate) - Watsan creates electricity-free water filters using a new nano-clay particle filtration technique. They received a grant from India’s Millennium Alliance Fund, and have produced over 90,000 personal filters to date.

Cityrene (Chennai FI Graduate) - Cityrene builds eco-friendly homes using GFRG technology to help people buy quick, efficient and smart homes. In the past year, they’ve grown their team and increased MoM revenue.

Airvinci (Toronto FI Graduate) - A hardware company building a personal helicopter backpack, Airvinci tested their prototype last year, which was met by a widespread media excitement.

Easy Aerial (New York FI Graduate) - A company that builds advanced modular quadracopters and software for videographers, Easy Aerial launched the world’s first unlimited distance drone system and teamed with Mythbusters in 2016.

Hykso (Montreal FI Graduate) - A wrist-worn sensor and analytics platform for athletes that was accepted into Y Combinator and raised +600k$, Hykso was used by the USA National Boxing Team in preparation for the Olympics.

SensiCare (MendUX) (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - Producing health hardware that helps elder care facilities control their bottom line, SensiCare developed their prototype last year, and have gained attention at several hardware events.

Emberlight (San Francisco FI Graduate) - An app-connected “smart light socket” hardware solution, Emberlight has attracted a variety of press since launching, and have been featured on Fox News’s ‘Tech Take’.

Caarmo (Washington DC FI Graduate) - Caarmo, a wireless smart health tracker for vehicles, expanded in the past year by landing 12 large channel sales partnerships, with a total of 3k service centers.

GoFar (Sydney FI Graduate) - A smart device that coaches people to drive safer and more economically, Gofar announced that it has shipped over 1000 units.

Best in Health/ Fitness

Hykso (Montreal FI Graduate) - A wrist-worn sensor and analytics platform for athletes that was accepted into Y Combinator and raised +600k$, Hykso was used by the USA National Boxing Team in preparation for the Olympics.

Sworkit (Washington DC FI Graduate) - The leading platform on mobile, web, and smart TV for instructional exercise for both fitness and rehabilitative needs, Sworkit struck a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.

From Fat to Finish Line (Los Angeles FI Graduate) - A lifestyle brand for the growing community of overweight Americans who have taken up running for health, From Fat to Finish Line released a hit documentary on Netflix.

Zinmed (Hanoi FI Graduate) - Zinmed is a diabetes treatment management application, which provides apps, and cloud web services for diabetics, doctor and partners. They have been featured extensively in Vietnamese news.

RigPlenish (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - An end-to-end data management application that automates paperwork at each stage of an ambulance run, RigPlenish officially launched at Y Combinator after going through the incubator’s program.

Paymium (Paris FI Graduate) - An online exchange where buyers and sellers make bitcoins transactions, Paymium closed a major deal: securing a partnership with the first French bus operator to accept bitcoin.

Zipmark (New York FI Graduate) - Zipmark, a mobile payments platform enabling businesses to send and receive digital paychecks securely, was featured on VC Circle and Fox News for their 2016 progress.

Bankity (Medellín FI Graduate) - Bankity is a consumer financial budgeting app with more than 30,000 downloads. In 2016, they were named one of the five best budgeting apps in an article on El Herlado.

Ovamba (Johannesburg FI Graduate) - Ovamba is a leading marketplace lending platform for SMEs. In 2016, they were named a finalist at the Benzinga Global Fin-tech Awards.

SmartKompare (Dhaka FI Graduate) - SmartKompare lets users compare financial products and find the best one according to their choice and limitation. In the past year, they’ve grown their team and released a new website.

Jia Collection (New York FI Graduate) - Jia Collection offers multifunctional fashion that makes dressing more fun and efficient for the modern busy lifestyle. They launched a travel fashion line in 2016.

Styline Collection (Dhaka FI Graduate) - Styline is an ecommerce platform for women to find and purchase their lifestyle products at reasonable prices. They went through the Magic startup accelerator last year.

Feetz (San Diego FI Graduate) - One of the industry leaders in 3D printed custom footwear, Feetz launched a shoe line with DSW in 2016 (A major U.S. shoe retailer with over 450 locations).

Best in Enterprise Tech

Involve (San Diego FI Graduate) - A platform for companies to streamline corporate giving and manage employee engagement, Involve landed three big pilots and a large customer in Mucker Capital.

Entryless (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - Entryless is an Accounts Payable as a Service platform, that enable companies to manage & pay all their AP online. They’ve experienced fast growth, and have become very profitable in the past year.

Logrr (Montreal FI Graduate) - An identity-as-a-service platform for large corporations, Logrr launched three major pilots in 2016 and landed banking giant Barclays as a customer. Logrr raised a seed round from Colorado-based Rockies Venture Club as well as Techstars.

Bridgr (Montreal FI Graduate) - A service that helps small and medium-sized companies find experts to fix operational problems, Bridgr launched their beta with 5 manufacturing pilots. Bridgr joined the HEC - National Bank of Canada accelerator and is member of the Canadian delegation for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance.

Caarmo (Washington DC FI Graduate) - Caarmo, a wireless smart health tracker for vehicles, expanded in the past year by landing 12 large channel sales partnerships, with a total of 3k service centers.

Rever (Silicon Valley FI Graduate) - Rever is an online platform that enables large companies to engage all their employees in frontline innovation. In 2016, they raised $1m funding and secured several large clients.

Pathgather (New York FI Graduate) - Pathgather, a marketplace for online education that helps users discover and choose the right online courses, and founder Eric Duffy were named to both Forbes’ and Built in NYC’s ‘30 under 30’ list after a strong year.

ReadyPulse (Seattle FI Graduate) - ReadyPulse is an enterprise software platform using patented tech to surface high quality, authorized social content from brand ambassadors. It was acquired by Experticity in 2016 after raising $8M in funding.

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The Founder Institute is the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, we have helped over 3,500 companies raise over $800M and build some of the world's fastest growing companies. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 65 countries, the Founder Institute's mission is to “Globalize Silicon Valley” and empower talented and motivated people to build impactful companies that create one million jobs.